Beaker thumbnail 1
Beaker thumbnail 2
+4
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Image of Gallery in South Kensington
On display at V&A South Kensington
Medieval & Renaissance, Room 10a, The Françoise and Georges Selz Gallery

Beaker

1250-1325 (made)
Place of origin

This beaker was excavated at the site of Launceston Castle in Cornwall. This find forms part of a larger group of similar enamelled beakers, most found in excavations, widely spread over Europe and also Egypt and the Near East. One of the few undamaged examples, a slightly wider beaker in the British Museum, is inscribed: "+MAGISTER . ALDREVANDIN . ME . FECI :" [Master Aldrevandin made me]. The Italian name Aldrevandin can be found in Tuscany and Padova as well as in Murano. The wide geographical spread of the excavated examples suggests that this type of beaker was at the time of its manufacture an important luxury export product. This points to a major production centre linked with the main international trading routes, and Murano (Venice) is the most obvious contender. Archival evidence also proves that Muranese glassmakers painted glass beakers in considerable quantities during the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
Bottles and beakers formed the bulk output of the Muranese glassmakers in the Medieval period, and these were widely exported across Europe and beyond. Since at least the late thirteenth century, enamel-painting was practised in Murano to embellish glass beakers and these luxury items found their way to the dining tables of the most wealthy patrons. Many such beakers were embellished with arms and heraldic animals, often accompanied by inscriptions, appropriate for the most distinguished owners. This is also reflected in the nature of the archaeological sites at which such beakers have been found.


Object details

Category
Object type
Materials and techniques
Colourless glass, blown and enamelled
Brief description
Fragmentary glass beaker, enamelled with a heraldic animal and inscription, Probably Venice ca. 1300
Physical description
Fragmentary colourless glass beaker with applied foot-rim. Enamelled decoration includes an heraldic beast and an inscription.
Dimensions
  • Height: 10.7cm
  • Diameter: 9cm
  • Weight: 0.04kg
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Marks and inscriptions
"..RIA GRACI.." (The fragmentary inscription would have read: "AVE MARIA CRACIA PLENA" (normally "AVE MARIA CRATIA PLENA") or a shortenend version of this. [Hail Mary full of Grace], the beginning of the Hail Mary (sometimes called the "Angelical salutation").)
Credit line
HRH The Duke of Cornwall
Object history
This beaker has been excavated at the site of Launceston Castle in Cornwall. It was found in the stone-lined sunken base of a tower in the north gate-house area in 1970-76.
This find forms part of a larger group of similar enamelled beakers, most have been found in excavations, widely spread over Europe and also in Egypt and the Near East. One of the few undamaged examples, a slightly wider beaker in the British Museum, is inscribed: "+MAGISTER . ALDREVANDIN . ME . FECI :" [Master Aldrevandin made me]. The name Italian name Aldrevandin can be found in Tuscany and Padova as well as in Murano. The wide geographical spread of the excavated examples, suggests that this type of beaker was at the time of its manufacture an important luxury export product. This points at a major production centre, linked with the main international trading routes, and Murano (Venice) is the most obvious contender. Archival evidence also proves that Muranese glassmakers painted glass beakers in considerable quantities during the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
Historical context
Bottles and beakers formed the bulk output of the Muranese glassmakers in the Medieval period, and these were widely exported across Europe and beyond. Since at least the late thirteenth century, enamel-painting was practised in Murano to embellish glass beakers and these luxury items found their way to the dining tables of the most wealthy patrons. Many of such beakers were embellished with arms and heraldic animals, often accompanied by inscriptions, appropriate for the most distinguished owners. This is also reflected in the nature of the archaeological sites on which such beakers have been found.
Production
This part of a larger group of similar enamelled beakers, most have been found in excavations, widely spread over Europe and also in Egypt and the Near East. One of the few undamaged examples, a slightly wider beaker in the British Museum, is inscribed: "+MAGISTER . ALDREVANDIN . ME . FECI :" [Master Aldrevandin made me]. The name Italian name Aldrevandin can be found in Tuscany and Padova as well as in Murano. The wide geographical spread of the excavated examples, suggests that this type of beaker was at the time of its manufacture an important luxury export product. This points at a major production centre, linked with the main international trading routes, and Murano (Venice) is the most obvious contender. Archival evidence also proves that Muranese glassmakers painted glass beakers in considerable quantities during the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
Summary
This beaker was excavated at the site of Launceston Castle in Cornwall. This find forms part of a larger group of similar enamelled beakers, most found in excavations, widely spread over Europe and also Egypt and the Near East. One of the few undamaged examples, a slightly wider beaker in the British Museum, is inscribed: "+MAGISTER . ALDREVANDIN . ME . FECI :" [Master Aldrevandin made me]. The Italian name Aldrevandin can be found in Tuscany and Padova as well as in Murano. The wide geographical spread of the excavated examples suggests that this type of beaker was at the time of its manufacture an important luxury export product. This points to a major production centre linked with the main international trading routes, and Murano (Venice) is the most obvious contender. Archival evidence also proves that Muranese glassmakers painted glass beakers in considerable quantities during the late thirteenth and the first half of the fourteenth century.
Bottles and beakers formed the bulk output of the Muranese glassmakers in the Medieval period, and these were widely exported across Europe and beyond. Since at least the late thirteenth century, enamel-painting was practised in Murano to embellish glass beakers and these luxury items found their way to the dining tables of the most wealthy patrons. Many such beakers were embellished with arms and heraldic animals, often accompanied by inscriptions, appropriate for the most distinguished owners. This is also reflected in the nature of the archaeological sites at which such beakers have been found.
Bibliographic references
  • E, Baumgartner and I, Krueger, Phönix aus Sand und Asche: Glas des Mittelalters, Munich, 1988, pp. 126-155
  • R. Tyson, Medieval glass vessels found in England c AD 1200-1500, CBA Research Reoprt 121, Council of British Archaeology, York 2000, pp. 89-90, cat g142
  • Liefkes, R, Glass, London 1997, p. 38, fig. 40
Collection
Accession number
LOAN:D.OF CORNWALL.1

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Record createdDecember 12, 2006
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